Beijing, China - A Roman Catholic priest from China's unofficial church has been released by authorities after spending two months in detention, a U.S.-based religious monitoring group said Monday.
The Rev. Zhao Kexun, an administrator of the diocese in Xuanhua, a district in the northern province of Hebei, was taken away by government security agents March 30 as he returned from a service at a private home.
Zhao, 75, was released June 1, the Cardinal Kung Foundation said in a statement. It was not immediately clear why he was taken, where he was held or what his condition was.
A woman who answered the telephone at the Xuanhua public security bureau said she had "heard nothing about the case." She would give only her family name, Jia.
China forced its Roman Catholics to cut ties with the Vatican in 1951, shortly after the officially atheistic Communist Party took power. Worship is now allowed only in government-controlled churches, which recognize the pope as a spiritual leader but appoint their own priests and bishops.
Millions, however, belong to unofficial congregations still loyal to Rome. The government's Roman Catholic church claims 4 million believers, and foreign experts say the unofficial church has 12 million followers.
Many unofficial congregations hold services openly, but in some regions, particularly the politically sensitive capital of Beijing, they are routinely harassed and their priests and bishops arrested.
The foundation has said 33 members of seven dioceses in Hebei have been arrested and imprisoned, with similar detentions in other provinces.
"We hope that (Zhao's) release is not an isolated case, but rather the beginning of the release of many dozens of other Roman Catholic bishops, priests, and faithful currently being jailed by the Chinese authorities across China," Joseph Kung, the foundation's president, was quoted as saying.
"This would show China's sincerity about improving its relationship with the Vatican."
Leaders from both sides have publicly declared a desire for ties, but several sticking points remain, including whether the Vatican's is willing to sever ties with China's archrival, Taiwan, and what relationship Beijing will allow the Vatican to have with Roman Catholics in China.